The educational initiative in the United States called “Common Core” is uniting schools and teachers around the country to promote consistent, high-level ability in reading, writing, math, and language skills for kids from kindergarten through graduation. The sponsors of this program believe that this will help prepare students for higher education, and give them the tools they need to get ahead in the job market as well. School administrations have been working on this initiative for several years, after the introduction of the first set of standards released in 2010, and 2015 is the target date to have the majority of schools following the new curriculum. The English Language Arts section covers skills in reading and writing, but also in comprehension and listening abilities. Students in higher grades will be expected to read and analyze literature and write about it, as well as discussing it in class. Communication on many levels is emphasized in this area, and that includes communication in digital format. The Common Core Standards include a requirement that children at the grade 5 level (generally between 10 and 12 years old) be able to successfully type out a two-page paper on their own, without taking significant pauses in the process. This is just the latest trend in digitally-based education; many students already have to use computers as part of their school programs, when teachers put quizzes and lessons on line or refer students to internet resources. A good ability to type – or better, the ability to…
The best motivation for learning a new skill is looking at the benefits that other people have gained from that skill. When it comes to typing, Doreen Holding demonstrates how learning this skill at a young age continues to bring her success in the professions and projects she’s taken on. Now she’s sharing her skills with others both as a private typing tutor and on her website. A history of teaching typing to people at all age levels has given her the ability to explain the best ways to learn to touch type, and the seven lessons in her Beginner Typing series are a quick and effective way to get the typing skills you need. We asked Doreen about her thoughts on learning typing, and what she plans to do next. Typesy: You started teaching typing back when it was a skill that was generally only taught to girls, who were expected to end up as secretaries typing letters for their (usually male) bosses. Were there boys who also wanted to learn typing back then, and is there still the idea that typing is primarily something that women do? DH: When I started to teach typing in 1972 there were SOME boys interested in learning typing, not as many as girls, and when I taught classes in our Polytechnic in the mid 1980s it was to mixed classes. Also at a Secondary School I taught a mixed class but I have to admit that in that class some of the…
Are You Ready For The Cincy Typing Challenge?
There are only two weeks to go before the fingers start flying at the Cincy Typing Challenge in Cincinnati, Ohio! If you’re in the area, be sure to register on line if you want to participate and try for the $5,000 grand prize. The contest is open to anyone, and there will be a “celebrity typing challenge” as well, featuring local news broadcasters and reporters. There’s also a texting competition with a $500 prize, but if you want to compete in this category you’ll have to bring your own device. This competition is being held on the 125th anniversary of the first typing contest between expert typists Frank McGurrin (who used the then-new QWERTY keyboard layout) and Cincinnati typing teacher Louis Traub. McGurrin won the challenge back in 1888 and the QWERTY keyboard became the standard. This year, the competition will be held at the Cincinnati Museum Center, and there is also an exhibit of old typewriters on display at the Cincinnati History Museum going on now until the first qualifying round in the typing contest on July 20th. To register for the Cincy Typing Challenge or to get more information, click here. If you’re in Kuala Lumpur on January 8th, you can celebrate Typing Day and participate in the speed typing contest sponsored by the Malaysian government and the student organization AYFIC Project. In the UK, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, recently sponsored an open typing test competition for anyone who wanted to take it at their training…
Hey, students! Just because your classes are over until the fall, don’t forget that learning never stops. In fact, you can use your free time in the next few months to strengthen skills that will help you when your studies start up again. Learn some speed reading techniques and you’ll be able to get through your assignments more quickly. Practice developing good touch typing skills and you’ll save time writing up your homework answers, your review essays, and your term papers. It might be tempting to kick back and relax right now, but a little investment of your free time right now will pay off in a lot of saved time in the future. Check out your local library or community center to see what courses they’re offering and look for an opportunity to take a summer class on typing. Libraries also have how-to sections where you can pick up typing tips, and computer terminals with internet connections that you can use to play online typing games. Many colleges and universities offer continued student support in the summer with free skill-building sessions that help prepare students for coursework and jobs. If you’re already a good typist, hone your skills – and earn a little extra money – by offering to type up papers for people who are taking summer classes. When you’re confident that you’ve got speed and accuracy, use your typing skills to get a summer job. Temporary agencies are good places to start for short-term work. They often…
How to Teach Children to Type
A child born in the 21st century comes into a world where there have always been mobile phones, e-readers, computers, and the global information resources available through an internet connection. With software designed for babies as young as six months old, and parents turning to online resources to entertain their kids, some children will start using a computer keyboard before they pick up a pencil to learn to write. Given that good typing skills help people of any age get the most out of their computer connections, it’s a good idea to help children learn the best way to type as soon as they start using the keyboard. Here are some suggestions for teaching children good typing habits: Help them with posture. “Sit up straight!” isn’t something that parents need to say just at the dinner table, but also at the study desk. We’ve talked before about the importance of the correct sitting position for typing, and how bad placement and posture can lead to muscle pain and even injury. Good posture at the keyboard is even more important for children, whose bones and muscles are still growing. Help them learn the right position for typing, and prevent problems before they start. Help them with hand position. Children’s hands are smaller, which might make it awkward for them to reach some of the keys on standard keyboard without moving their hands off the home row. On the other hand, they’ll have an advantage on laptops and netbooks with smaller keyboards….
Fast Typing Tonics, Perfect Keyboard Skills
Location, location, location – that’s the key to the real estate world, and also the key to touch typing. You need to have your hands positioned correctly on the keyboard, and your fingers have to know exactly where all the letters are without your eyes having to help them along. When your hands are properly placed over the home row of the keyboard, you’ll be able to type in the fastest, most efficient way possible. The Fast Typing Tonics exercises in Typesy help you with specific practice routines to get your hands and fingers used to working on the home row, the top row, and the bottom row, or all three rows together. You’ll get exercises designed to strengthen your right hand and your left hand, separately or in combination. You can practice these skills on your own as well, just by coming up with lists of words or phrases that focus on certain areas of the keyboard, or particular combinations of letters that give you problems. Remember, the more you practice, the more quickly your fingers will get the “muscle memory” that is essential to fast and accurate touch typing. Here are some practice words that target different areas of the keyboard: TOP ROW WORDS typewriter proprietor perpetuity repertoire territory potpourri etiquette propriety prototype pirouette puppeteer HOME ROW WORDS alfalfas flasks salads glass alas falls glad galls LEFT HAND WORDS tesseract cataract stewardess aftereffect exacerbated reverberate vertebrae exaggerate segregate wasted RIGHT HAND WORDS lollipop limply polyphony milky million homily…
Tell Me A Story! Typing and Authors Past and Present
We’ve always told stories to each other, starting back in the days when those tales were spun by the fireside and passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. When those stories were written down – traced on papyrus, or chipped into stone, or scratched out by a goose-quill pen, or pressed in ink on sheets of paper – we could wander away from the fire and read stories to ourselves, or out loud to others. But from the very beginning, someone had to come up with those stories, no matter how they were recorded later. The tools that storytellers use have changed over the years, and authors today have the choice of pen or pencil, electric or manual typewriter (yes, they still exist!), computer word processor or voice recorder. Many authors find touch typing to be an essential skill, allowing them to record their words as fast as they come to mind. One of the faster typists was the author Jack Kerouac. He used a manual typewriter, but instead of using individual sheets of paper, he threaded an entire roll of paper into the machine so that he wouldn’t have to stop the flow of words to change pages. He also didn’t go back to edit those words, which led to a comment from another author of the day, Truman Capote, who said, “That’s not writing, it’s typing.” Kerouac’s work is still popular and widely read, and one of his typewriters sold for over $20,000 at an…
10 Top Typing Tips
You might think that it’s only a question of getting your fingers properly trained in order to be a fast typist, but in fact your entire body is involved in the process of touch typing. Muscles, nerves, and tendons are connected throughout your body from your toes to your fingertips to the top of your head. If there’s tension anywhere, that stress is communicated throughout the rest of the system and will affect your typing speed. In order to stay relaxed and in optimal typing shape, follow these ten ergonomic tips: Tip #1: Elbow Position. If your arms have to work hard to support your hands and fingers on the keyboard, that increases tension in your shoulders and neck. Make sure your elbows are comfortably supported and relaxed at the side of your body. Tip #2: Chair Height. In order for your elbows to be in the right position, your chair needs to be at the right height so that your arms aren’t in an awkward position. However, your feet need to still be touching the ground, with your upper legs parallel to the floor. Tip #3: Wrist Support. Don’t let your wrists dangle, or use too much effort to keep them in position above the keyboard. Try a keyboard shelf to adjust the height of your hands and forearms. Tip #4: Desktop Height. There’s only so much you can do to adjust your chair height, so look also at the height of the work surface. You need enough height…
The Best Free Typing Games
As the developers at Typesy know, one of the best ways to get people to work hard at something is to make them think that they’re not working at all! In other words, when you make something into a game, people are going to want to spend time on it. If you’ve ever heard the expression “time flies when you’re having fun” you’ll know what we mean. That’s why Typesy incorporates games into their software, giving users the chance to relax and have fun while still focusing on improving touch typing skills. If you’re looking for other typing games, whether for kids or adults, there are more options on the internet as well. These free typing games will help train your fingers to be quick on the keys, and you’ll think you’re hardly working even though you’re working hard. Try Typer Shark to get a challenge with fast-paced word and individual letter typing. You’re a deep sea diver looking for treasure, but watch out for the sharks! You’ll have to type the words on the sharks to make them disappear, and the deeper you dive, the faster the sharks get. Collect points and treasure, and improve your typing skills at the same time. Come out of the water and into the henhouse to play Chicktionary for a real time-based challenge. In this game, you need to spell as many words as you can using the letters provided in each round. The faster you type, the more words you’ll be able…
Test Your Top Typing Speed With Transcription
Are you focused on improving your typing skills because you want a new job, or a better job? In a previous post we talked about some of the employment opportunities you’ll find opening up for you when you’re a top typist, including legal transcriptionist and medical transcriptionist. Transcription in general involves listening to an audio tape or file, or watching a video, and typing what is being said. Most people agree that for English language speakers, the average speaking rate is around 125 words per minute. If you want to be able to type as fast as people speak, that’s the target wpm you need to aim for. Don’t worry – it’s not an impossible goal, even if it seems like it right now. By using the techniques and exercises provided in the Typesy software courses, it’s possible to triple your typing speed; since most average typists start out at around 45wpm, you can see that the goal of 125wpm is well within reach. One way you can get practice in transcription and challenge yourself is by trying to transcribe what people are saying on the television or radio. For this exercise, you’ll want to find a show that doesn’t have several people talking at once, but rather one person talking at a time. A nature show with narration is a good place to start, or any other documentary. The people hired to narrate these shows are selected for their speaking skills, so you’ll not have a problem understanding them,…